The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1887-06-29
Cleveland and file pensions

Ine facts regarding the invita-
ton to President Cleveland to visit
St Louis during the Grand Army
'encampment next fall, which has so
excited the ire of the n. Y. Tribune, 4
General Tuttle and few abum.
mers, . are these: The Grand Army
of The Republic holds its next an
nual encampment at ST. Louis on
the last "wednesday Of September,
1887; the great fair Of the valley Of.
the Mississippi begins Monday, Oct
2, and the best citizens of st. louis
have invited many prominent men
to be the guests of tifeircity. among
these the President Of our common
country, Grover Cleveland, his fam
lily and suite 80
The recent Iuiddle growing ont
of the accidental coincidence Of
tIlese two ltapt appears
to be Republican move to fire tho
heart of the old soldier clement
against President Cleveland on ac-
count of his pension vetoes, in view
of the approaching campaign. The
man put forward to raise this PEN
sion issue against the President is
a renegade Democrat, one General
futile, Department Commander of
the G. A. r. of Iowa His action
and utterances have been endorsed
by the Tribune; and more recently
by the Desmoins G. a. r. Post-he,
Tuttle, being present-in set reso-
lutions, which are calculated 10 cause
a blush upon the cheek of every
right-minded citizen, be he soldier
or civilian, Democrat or Republi-
can. Two of the said resolutions,
framed by the said Tuttle. read as
follows:
Resolred, That proper regard
for common decency and for the
dignity of the official position he
now fills should have caused Gro
YER Cleveland to see that he eannot
expect to be kindly greeted by
Union soldiers, after his attacks
upon them, their wives and their
children in his malicious vetoes of
119 pension bills, in which with sa-
tanic glee he so grossly insulted
every Union soldier, and it would
seem to us he should have sufficient
self-respect not to attempt to crowd
himself before the gaze of those who
utterly and unalterably despise him.
ResoIDed, That if Grover Glove
land and his friends insist upon
using the prestige of the Grand
Army of the Republic to obtain an
audience, that he send a substitute,
and if possible the person who rep
resented him in the army during
the war. While we respect the
office he fills, we must still be al
lowed to say that we have no kind
feeling for its present soldier-hating
occupant.
Here the President of the Great
Republic is charged with lacking
common decencyp His public
acts9 of sworn duty are characterized
as malicious vetoes of pension bills,
in which he with satanic glee, in
suited every Union soldier not
only impugning his motives, but
twitting him with sending sub
stitute to the army, and insulting
him by suggesting that he send that
substitute to St Louisl if he, the
''soidier-hating occupant of the
Presidential Office, "must crowd
himself before the gaze of those who
utterly and unalteably despise hin. =
The violent and indecent language
of these resolutions betrays futile
as their author, and clearly indi-
Gates their partisan motive and pur-
pose. The purpose of the attack
is to prostitute the G. a. R. organ
ization to partisan ends in the
interest of James G. Blaine, who
not only hired a substitute, but was
mean enough, subsequently,, to beg
his city to refund the money to him,
unlawfully-without a shadow of
right in law or equity.
And this indecent assault is made
upon President Cleveland, whose
Administration done more for the
soldiers than any previous one
Tens of thousands of pensions, long
delayed by Republican Administra-
tions, have been promptly granted,
under Cleveland, to worthy veterans
whose claims had been, in many
instances, rejected finally under
Republican rule.
How has it been with our
Maine veterans? Have they not
fared wen nnder Democratic rule2
Since Mach 4. 1885. some over 1000
original pension certificates have
been issued to Maine veterans now
residing in the State. In the last
eleven months, since July, 1886,
1851 original pensions have been
granted to Maine's old soldiers